Fantasy Football: Early Positional Rankings for NFL Wild Card Weekend

Jay Clemons

Jun 3, 2018

Here are my initial fantasy rankings for Wild Card Weekend, factoring in standard-scoring leagues only.

To view my "5-Minute Guide For Surviving NFL Postseason Leagues," click here:

QB Rankings—Wild Card Round

1. Aaron Rodgers, Packers
2. Matt Schaub, Texans
3. Andrew Luck, Colts
4. Robert Griffin III, Redskins
5. Joe Flacco, Ravens
6. Russell Wilson, Seahawks
7. Andy Dalton, Bengals
8. Christian Ponder, Vikings

Quick Hitters

1. In his last four meetings with Minnesota, Rodgers boasts sterling averages of 309 yards and three touchdowns.

2. Flacco has respectable averages of 218 yards passing and 1.75 touchdowns in his last four playoff outings.

3. On the flip side, Dalton has averaged just 223 yards passing and 0.5 TDs in two career encounters with the Texans.

Top 12 Running Backs—Wild Card

1. Adrian Peterson, Vikings
2. Ray Rice, Ravens
3. Arian Foster, Texans
4. Marshawn Lynch, Seahawks
5. Alfred Morris, Redskins
6. BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Bengals
7. Vick Ballard, Colts
8. Bernard Pierce, Ravens
9. DuJuan Harris, Packers
10. Ben Tate, Texans
11. Robert Turbin, Seahawks
12. Ryan Grant, Packers

Quick Hitters

1. In five years of doing playoff fantasy rankings, I cannot recall a greater class of elite tailbacks during the Wild Card Round. You could shuffle the first five names in any order, and I wouldn't raise a major stink about it.

That said...

2. Peterson has racked up 409 yards rushing and two touchdowns against the Packers this season.

3. For 2012, the Colts ranked 28th in rushing defense, allowing 137 yards per game. That bodes well for Ray Rice, who averaged 99 total yards and one TD at home (eight outings).

4. For what it's worth, Foster rolled the Bengals for 182 total yards (153 rushing) and two scores in last year's wild-card clash.

Top 15 Wide Receivers—Wild Card

1. Andre Johnson, Texans
2. Reggie Wayne, Colts
3. Greg Jennings, Packers
4. A.J. Green, Bengals
5. Jordy Nelson, Packers
6. Pierre Garcon, Redskins
7. Anquan Boldin, Ravens
8. James Jones, Packers
9. T.Y. Hilton, Colts
10. Sidney Rice, Seahawks
11. Torrey Smith, Ravens
12. Randall Cobb, Packers
13. Jarius Wright, Vikings
14. Donnie Avery, Colts
15. Santana Moss, Redskins

Quick Hitters

1. Jennings has 15 catches, 21 targets, 165 yards and three touchdowns in his last two games. And that came before his sister raised the bar of expectations on Twitter last week.

2. Andre Johnson has notched nine-plus targets in 10 of his last 11 games. In that span, he averaged 8.6 catches, 120 yards and 0.2 TDs.

3. For what it's worth, Garcon has collected 46 targets in his last five outings.

4. The Redskins had the NFL's 30th-ranked pass defense, allowing 282 yards per game. That spells at least three red-zone opportunities for a feast-or-famine asset like Sidney Rice.

Top 8 Tight Ends—Wild Card

1. Dennis Pitta, Ravens
2. Jermichael Finley, Packers
3. Owen Daniels, Texans
4. Kyle Rudolph, Vikings
5. Jermaine Gresham, Bengals
6. Zach Miller, Seahawks
7. Coby Fleener, Colts
8. Logan Paulsen, Redskins

Kicker Rankings—Wild Card

1. Shayne Graham, Texans
2. Blair Walsh, Vikings
3. Justin Tucker, Ravens
4. Steven Hauschka, Ravens
5. Kai Forbath, Redskins
6. Mason Crosby, Packers
7. Josh Brown, Bengals
8. Adam Vinatieri, Colts